10/17/10

I was thrilled to bits, no thrilled to the moon when the new Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented arrived from the publishers. Even more thrilled that they sent me an extra copy. It is so time for a giveaway! I love to share happy happy good things.I have to say a HUGE congrats to Matt & Renato on their second book. As soon as I opened the book, going straight to the back index to see the list of recipes first, I instantly grabbed my cell phone to send Matt a text at how AMAZING this new book was, how I love it way more than the first book but in a progressive-honest way. I mean seriously this second cookbook is really packed with a whole new family of sweet treats. Later I asked a friend if it was rude to say to Matt that the second book is better than the first--she said no; be careful how you word it though. True, because their first book had me hooked and to be honest their second book is amazing. Some people when they do a second book it doesn't measure up to the first. You think second books, they should should be as good as if not better than the first book; more recipes along the same lines as the first book but better. You with me? This second book they made recipes based on perfect food combinations--food combo's you WANT to eat/devour; recipes that foodies like us can truly use; actual recipes you want to make, and/or use for entertaining. Another excellent feature of their book, just like the first book is it's user friendly, very easy to follow along and make at home. Nothing too fancy or too unusual to do or buy. A few of their recipes? Like baked cheese grits, malted waffles, almond joy tart! Are you kidding? They speak my language! Wait till you see the photographs. There is this one photograph of a cake called "caramel apple cake". The cake is apple, it's thick and the frosting is caramel buttercream. Ohhh please. But the photo is so perfect; I need to learn how to frost the cake just like that. Then there is this recipe for chocolate-peanut butter fondue--this is what I will eat with a spoon, period.There is also a recipe for chocolate coffee cake with dark chocolate ganche. Hello? Where do I begin on this one? I don't know how many more times I have to ask Matt to marry me before he says yes. Ha ha! Last winter I remember Matt telling me how he was secluded in a kitchen baking and testing away, and how tired he was. Well Matt it truly paid off. This book is a winner--I'm so happy for you and Renalto. Congrats my friend.If you want to try and win this cookbook, just leave me a comment before October 27, 2010. Tell me what are your favorite cookbooks of all time? I draw one name on October 27, 2010. Good luck!**And if you win, do you promise the book will go to a good home? You promise to love, honor and cherish it? **

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and position the rack in the center. Butter the sides and bottom of a glass 9 x 13-inch pan. You can use a metal pan, but the edges of the cake may turn crispy (although that is not traditional, it is not an altogether bad thing).

Make the crumb toppingIn a medium bowl, stir together both sugars, the salt and cinnamon. Add the melted butter and whisk until combined. Fold in the flour until it is absorbed and set the mixture aside.

Prepare the CakeSift flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into medium bowl and set aside.Using electric mixer, beat room-temperature butter in large bowl until smooth. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy; add eggs 1 at a time, beating until well blended after each addition. Add sour cream and vanilla extract and beat just until blended. Add flour mixture in 3 parts, beating just until incorporated after each addition.

Assemble the cakePour the batter into the prepared baking pan, spread batter evenly. Use your hands to scoop up a handful of the topping and make a fist. The topping should hold together. Break off in chunks and drop them over cake. Repeat to use all the topping. Remember the topping with look very thick.

Bake the cake for 45 to 55 minutes or until tester inserted into center comes out clean. Rotate the pan two times during the baking process. Cool entire pan on wire rack for about 30 minutes before devouring.The cake will last 3 days, tightly covered, at room temperature.

189 comments:

This cake looks so yummy! I want to make it now... but I have a giant report due tomorrow for one of my classes. Bummer. But my fave cookbook ever has to be the Taste of Home cookbook I got (the binder ed) for my wedding a few years ago. You can't go wrong with home-tested recipes... it's like a giant church/school cookbook from all across the US! Never made a recipe from there I didn't like. :)

Oh my ohmyohmy! I've been absolutely drooling over all the recipes you've shared...need i say that I LOVE following this blog? I don't think so. But I will...I LOVE following this blog!!!! :DI don't have any cookbooks of my own yet, but I do love all the classic recipes that have been passed down through our family - you can't go wrong with those!!I have to say, though, I'm in the mood for cooking outside the box... :)

After thinking a bit, though, there are two cookbooks I"d love to own...Julia Child's, of course, and a gluten-free cookbook, maybe Elana Amsterdam's, though I like to use other flours as well as almond. :)Do you bake many things gluten-free?

One of my new favorite cookbooks is Cooking Light's Cooking Through the Season. The book is divided into a section for each season and all the recipes are based off produce and flavors that are unique to each season. Everything I've made so far has been delicious!

picking a favorite cookbook is a little like picking a favorite child! i love them all so much and each of them for their own "personality" :) if i did have to pick though, i would have to say my favorites are Barefoot Contessa Family Style by Ina Garten for good homey food, Italian Regional cooking by Ada Boni for getting in touch with my roots and cooking truly authentic Italian, Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a Day for its GENIUS way of making a homemade bread that is better than store bought and The Joy of Cookies, an old favorite for perfect cookies for any time of year....and if i win the baked cookbook, it will be loved, cherished and used!!

My favorite cookbooks are ones with weird foods... I have the Orville Reddinbacher's Popcorn Cookbook, which has both ways to flavor your popcorn, and recipes to incorporate it, and Favorite Brand Name Recipe Cookbook which is older than me, and is all recipes off the back of packages

oh my gosh....sometimes I just want to eat crumb....no cake :) This looks fantastic. And the book sounds phenomenal. My favorite cookbook of all time? That is a tough one....I like the original better homes and gardens cookbook. Great stuff in there

I have to say, in all sincerity, that my fav cookbook is the first Baked cookbook. Never have I read a cookbook from front to back in one sitting, including the intro. I usually skip all that and go straight to the recipes. But Baked made all the tips and suggestions on what to bake with made so much sense. Plus, their explanations on why to do certain things for a recipe helped to improve how I approach making scones and cookies. I just love it!

Favorite cookbook? Has to be the Tartine cookbook. Every time I leaf through it, I just wanted to crawl inside the book and into their world and have a bite of rustic fruit tart. The lemon bars with brown butter shortbread is my go-to recipe. It's coffee table quality without being overly precious. I have certain pages with spatters of batter caked on the pages. That's what makes a truly loved cookbook.

This book is on my wish list - good to hear you like it! I have two favorite cookbooks - they're the ones I learned how to cook from so they'll always be special - my Betty Crocker and Good Housekeeping cookbooks.

Favorite cookbook? It feels kind of impossible to choose. But thinking about the ones on my shelf that are the most worn, I suppose The Silver Palate wins. But really, I love them all. Even if I don't reference them often. I just like having them around.

My favorite cookbooks of all time are ones handwritten by Susan Branch, because her artwork is wonderful and the recipes are GREAT! Other favorites are out of print and were written by Virginia Bentley: Bentley Farm Cookbook and The Virginia Bentley Cookbook. Both of these are SUPERB! I also made a cookbook for both of my sons, my siblings, my sisters-in-law, etc. of all-time family favorites. Everyone still talks about that gift!

My favorite cookbook is The Fannie Farmer Cookbook. Mostly because it was my mom's go-to book. My favorite place to get recipes is really here, and other food blogs. Find the greatest things and such great tutorials! Heading to make that coffee cake right now to take to work tomorrow! YUM! Thanks so much for sharing!

This cake looks amazing. It is so hard just to pick one favorite book - it is like trying to pick a favorite child. If I could only pick one I would have to say Baking From My House To Yours by Dorrie Greenspan. I promise that if I won, this book would be going to a home with lots of tender loving care.

I really enjoy reading your blog. It's original and the recipes always look delicious. You are bookmarked on my phone. My favorite cookbooks are Mollie Katzen's Moosewood from 1977--wonderfully fun to read and anything by Ina Garten. I just love her. Thanks for the recipes.

My favorite cookbook is a book that my friend gave me. It isn't by some famous chef and probably only published in my country. It's a book primarily about spices, with lovely pictures, descriptions, histories and tips & ideas. It has some beautiful recipes that highlight those spices!

Oh I have been drooling over this book since soo long!! I love their previous book, owning this book would be the best thing that's happened to me in a long long time!! My current favorite book has to be Sticky Chewy Messy Goeey. They're words to live by :D

I must make this immediately!!! I wanted to reach through the screen and try to grab a piece! I'm always on the hunt for a good crumb cake recipe!!

And, my favorite cookbook - It would have to be the cookbook that my family published years ago when I was a child. It has all the family recipes in it that have been passed down from generation to generation.

Those bars look amazing. My favorite all time cookbook has to be Betty Crocker's New Cookbook. It is the old standard that I turn to over and over. The 1961 edition was my first cookbook and I think that has something to do with it.

I just got Alton Brown's Good Eats 2: The Middle Years, and I love how informative it is... there are little bits of history and science and other random tidbits with each recipe that fulfills the geek in me.

That crumb cake looks awesome. I love when there's just as much crumb or more crumb than cake. I love the first Baked cookbook, and I'm sure I would love this one too. It will most definitely go to a good home and be cherished forever and ever. I have so many favorite cookbooks... I really love Ad Hoc at Home.

The crumb cake looks terrific. :-) I've made many of Baked's recipes from the first book and would very happy to own the newest book. As the proud owner of ~600 cookbooks, it's hard to choose all-time favorites, but looking at the bindings, I'd say "The Frog Commissary Cookbook", Emeril's "New New Orleans", Douglas Rodriguez "Nuevo Latino", the late Richard Sax's "From the Farmer's Market" and "The Cookie Lover's Cookie Book", Madeleine Kamman's "When French Women Cook", Judith Barrett's "Risotto Risotti", "Beard on Pasta", "Rose's Christmas Cookies", Pranati Sen Gupta's "The Art of Indian Cuisine", Marcella Hazan's "Marcella's Italian Kitchen",and Rose Naftalin's "Grandma Rose's Book of Sinfully Delicious Snacks, Nibbles, Noshes, & Other Delights". Now the lesser used books are getting upset with me. :-(

My favorite cookbook is the one I've put together myself. It's a constantly evolving collection of recipes that have sparked my interest/taste buds over the years. Anytime I find an intriguing recipe in a book, magazine, or even online, I make a copy and slide it into my binder. My collection has grow to two binders: one for regular foods and the other is devoted to desserts. Every so often I go through them to purge things I haven't made (and likely won't) and add in the new items I've collected.

I only own 8 cookbooks, which I gather is pretty low compared to most people! I tend to only buy books that will get a lot of use on their own (meaning I like A LOT of the stuff in there) as opposed to just a few recipes.

Hi There! Love this cake. I need to make it. Great giveaway! Favorite cookbook of all times - wow that is so hard! My favorite is actaully the Polish Heritage Cookbook. It gives you some great basic recipes that our grandmothers from eastern europe used to do.

Oh my goodness-your crumb cake looks AMAZING, Dawn. I would love to sneak a piece off of that plate.

Only ONE favorite cookbook? YIKES! OK.....one of my favorite is Pillsbury Best of the Bake Off cookbook-the first edition. My mother had and gave to me. I can't tell you how many times I go to that book over and over-for the original Peanut Blossom recipe to many more from the first 10 bake off contests.I also love the church cookbook my daughter and I put together-tried and true recipes from our family and our church family too. I go to that one all the time.

Your blog is so inspiring and I love your photos! My favorite go-to cookbook is one of those hometown spiral jobs called "THE KEYTESVILLE COOKBOOK". It was put together by people in the town who contributed recipes to it and they are all yummy and easy homecooking. Little town of 500 people and I think they all sent in a recipe. I would love to win yours however! jcanyon@msn.com

Hard to narrow it down....but I love my Barefoot Contessa cookbook....every recipe is wonderful and without fail. But since I am a baker... I can't leave out a few baking ones.... The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri and Pillsbury's Complete Book of Baking. The crumb cake looks scrumptious!!

Yummy recipe! My favorite cookbooks are the King Arthur Baker's Companion, The Art and Soul of Baking, Apples for Jam, and Baking from My Home to Yours. Mostly baking books, but also cooking novels and vegetarian cookbooks. -Sarah at http://paoequeijo.typepad.com/

Looking at your blog makes me hungry each and every time. I have such a sweet tooth! You are inspiring to cook up desserts after many, many years. My favorite cookbook as of late is Seven Fires by Francis Mallmann. I would LOVE to win this giveaway!!! Thx!

i will love, honor & cherish the same way i do "baked: new frontiers in baking!"i have made so many recipes from the first…too many to mention…so as far as my baking goes…i think matt & renato's first book is my fav!thanks for including me in this fab giveaway!

Pioneer Woman Cooks is my favorite to date. The pictures are just as stunning as the recipes. It will definitely be one I pass down to my girls. Thanks for the opportunity to enter. If I win, I promise to honor, love and cherish this cookbook. As well as will it to my daughters.

Favorite book of all time is Barefoot Contessa at Home. She has to be one of my all time favorite tv foodies. Love love love the first Baked book as well. I have you to thank for turning me onto them and many other amazing recipes.

My favorite cookbook has to be the one I got from my Grandmother's kitchen after she passed away, everyone else wanted TVs and other big ticket items, but I had to have that cookbook, she was the best cook ever!

It's always so hard for me to pick a favorite cookbook of all time since I have so many I use and love. So when asked this question I usually say the one I'm cooking out of at the present time and right now that's Southern Plate.joosbornenc at yahoo dot com

I've been thinking about crumb cake ever since I saw it on a cooking show a while back - they didn't make it, they talked about how good it is! Thanks for the recipe - it looks wonderful. Can't wait to try it! Fav cookbook is Emeril's Chef in my World. His flavor profiles are perfect and his methods always work!

I promise to cherish and love that book just like my own child, if I am lucky enough to win it :)*fingerscrossed* my fave cookbook is Ultimate Cake, it was a gift from my husband, 14 years ago; I learned a lot from it and will never part with it..ever! :)

My favorite cookbook of all time is the ancient Betty Crocker cookbook my mom used when I was growing up. My husband was sweet enough to comb e-bay for the exact edition that my mom has and gave it to me for Christmas the first year we were married. I don't always follow the recipes in it to the letter, but they are a great jumping off point for experimenting.

To be honest, I use food blogs more than cookbooks to find my recipes nowadays. :) But the classics that got me hooked on baking in childhood? Beard on Bread. And my Mom's collection of Charlotte cookbooks, full of tried-and-true family recipes.

I promise to love and cherish this book if I win though!! I love cookbooks, just don't usually have the $$ to buy them!

I ran across your site while searching how to make vanilla sugar. Well, what a wonderful discovery!! I will most certainly be a regular visitor! I would have to say that my favorite cookbook(s) are the Taste of Home yearly issues that I have been receiving every Christmas since 1982 from my grandmother. Her vision has deteriorated and she's now unable to cook alongside me. But, I love the time spent reading the cookbooks to her even more!!!I still get excited every year!:)

I could not have said it better myself Dawn. Their first book was totally awesome. But their second book took the awesomeness to all new levels! I simply love it. But being that I have a serious cookbook addiction - I just cannot pick just one.

I am a cookbook addict. It is hard to pick just one. Right now it would have to be "Jamie at Home". It is one of Jamie Oliver's and he includes amazing gardening tips (which I'm also very into) as well as beautiful fresh recipes. I love his passion for using the things that come out of his garden to make these gorgeous dishes.

I love my cookbooks like i love my cookies - big and chunky. Compendium-style. The sort of thing so comprehensive you might never need another cookbook. Of course that never stops me from buying more... all time faves would have to be Stephanie Alexander's Kitchen Companion and Marie Claire Kitchen - the ultimate recipe collection.

I'm making this today! I love crumb cake and this looks great. I have the first Baked cookbook and make their chocolate chip cookies at least once a month. I found another recipe from the new book on another website (chocolate cake with peanut butter cream cheese icing) that I'm also going to make. Favotite cookbook? I have a couple "Barefoot Contessa" books that I really like to use. Love Ina! Hope I win! Thanks for the recipe, Ed

I made this crumb cake and it was wonderful. It was best when it was just baked and warm. You're right...about 3 days and then it's dry. I even liked the cake itself without the crumb topping. I didn't bake it that way....I may have cut a piece and eaten the topping first then the cake last. LOL

omgoodness -- i strongly desire the "baked" books. everything just looks so good, but my husband is very strict about the cookbook purchases. we have so many books already! i've utilized my "how to be a domestic goddess" cookbook from nigella lawson a LOT. otherwise "the art of handmade bread" is a popular one as we bake our own bread at home.

Even though I got it almost 30 years ago, I still go back to my Betty Crocker All-Time Favorites cookbook for some tried-and-true recipes like homemade crescent rolls and Quiche Lorraine. Love your blog!

I so want to win this book - I loved the first Baked one too (and I saw the cute promos for the new book and it made me want it more!). My favorite cookbook is the heavy tome Gourmet cookbook. It's huge and all the recipes are great. And I so want to make this crumb cake. Crumbs, I love 'em.

one of my favorite, often used, greasy paged cookbooks is one my grandma made for me for a wedding gift., 30yrs ago. The front page has a photo of her at the stove stirring a pot and another of my grandpa! It's filled w/ family recipes from her, and my aunts. Grandpa and Grandma have sinced died, but they cookbook still brings a smile to me, when I open that first page!

about vanilla sugar blog

Unique eats, creative recipes, as simple as possible.What drives me to create? Seeing dishes in restaurants, meals created on TV, recipes in cookbooks/online, and I always think to myself why didn’t they add this or why did they leave out that? Love to question, love to research, and love to learn about combining different flavors and textures in recipes.Recipe creations please email: vanillasugarblog@aol.com